Amazingly, even if you never described yourself as particularly religious – even if you never once considered the presence or absence or temperament of God – you may find yourself thinking thoughts about God pretty frequently these days.

It’s true that if you’re angry with God, the idea of talking to a person whose role is explicitly religious may not be appealing. A chaplain will neither lecture nor judge. They will, however, listen, and a good listener may be hard to find if your loved ones are also grieving and struggling to make sense of things.

OK, so you’re right in the midst of the worst experience of your life, and to add insult to injury, the people you thought you could depend on are being colossally unhelpful. It happens all the time. With friends, congregations, neighbors, coworkers, family members.